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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. court — of a king
  7. stock — shares
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — final
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. court — of law
  19. stem — to come from
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. court — for sport
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. last — to go on
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com